Key Events

MTL Fortnight Programme 2014

To create a cohesive environment for the learning and appreciation of Mother Tongue Language, the MTL Department has introduced MTL Fortnight Programme to promote MTL learning beyond the classroom. As part of the programme, a wide range of activities are conducted to promote the culture of learning the languages.

In Week 9 and 10 of Term 1, the MTL department conducted workshops to develop Upper Secondary students’ Oral and Creative writing skills. In Week 10 of Term 3, MTL department conducted a variety of cultural programmes and cross-cultural activities to expose the students to more aspects of their Mother Tongue Languages.

The first week of the Mother Tongue Fortnight started off with three students from the three different ethnic groups who shared Values for Breakfast in their own Mother Tongue Languages during the morning assembly. Their fellow schoolmates were captivated by their engaging sharing on “Why they should love their Mother Tongue Languages”.

During the first week of the Mother Tongue Fortnight, several competitions and workshops were conducted in their Mother Tongue Languages. Internal competitions were also held for our current batch of Sec 4NT, Sec 2E and Sec 2NA, including a vocabulary competition that tested the students on how well they remember the words they have learnt this year. The students enjoyed this competition and the winning team/individual was presented a prize during the prize presentation ceremony, other prizes for the internal competitions include Reading review competition, and Essay-writing competition.

Students were also exposed to cultures and books of other Mother Tongue Languages through the Chinese and Malay Cultural Arts Enrichment Programme and the Books Fair as part of the Fortnight activities.

A series of interesting cultural activities and workshops were conducted for our Sec One to Three students.

They were introduced to traditional games and participated in workshops on Lantern-making, Tiles-painting, Clay-modelling and the traditional craft of making Rod Puppets.

The Sec One Express and Normal Academic students joined the Lantern-making workshop and make lanterns from scratch with bamboo sticks and coloured plastic sheets.

The Sec Two Express students were participated in the Tiles-painting workshop. The instructor also taught them Chinese idioms that they were to paint on the tiles.

The Sec Two Normal Academic students had a Clay-modelling workshop, the main takeaways are mini clay mooncakes that look like the real mooncakes. Students learnt more about the making of this festive delicacy through this workshop.

The Sec Three students made Rod Puppets which were used in the shadow play in traditional Chinese theatre art scene.

During the second week of the Mother Tongue Fortnight 2014, the Sec One to Three students participated in various activities that were designed and customized to meet the desired objectives. During curriculum time, the Malay language teachers conducted fun and interactive language games/competition and cultural activities/competition of which winners were selected. For example, the NT students did a marvellous task of designing and colouring batik motifs which were a testament of their creativity! On the last day of the Mother Tongue Fortnight Programme 2014, prizes were given out to the winners by our principal, Mdm Shanti Devi.

Indeed, the students had a great, activities-packed afternoon session which was both educational and fun! The day after the enriching sessions, the MTL department organized a showcase in which the outcomes of the hands-on session of the Secondary 3s were proudly displayed, the Sec One students demonstrated simple silat moves to their peers and the Sec Three students put up a wonderful Gamelan performance (albeit only learning the basics the day before) during their respective recess breaks.

Conversation Chinese and Malay (CCM) 2014

CCM (10 sessions) was held in Term 2 for all Sec One students. In the programme, they learnt conversational Chinese and Malay language. The purpose of this programme is to promote racial harmony and strengthen the bonds among students of different races by helping them to acquire the languages used by other communal groups. National Education values were weaved in the programme to ensure that students understand the utmost significance of embracing diversity and appreciating the multi-lingual and multi-racial social fabric of Singapore.

Chinese Language Unit

Key events organised by the Chinese Language Department include Chinese New Year celebrations. To cultivate the students’ interest in learning Chinese Language, we also held variety of enrichment programmes and competitions for students to participate in during this festive season.

Chinese New Year

In 2014, the Chinese New Year celebration in Ping Yi Secondary School began with a spectacular performance by the Lion Dancers, followed by performance by Guzheng, Angklung, Indian Dance and Modern Dance. Every year, we invite seniors staying in the Chai Chee area to celebrate the occasion with us. This is one of the Values In Action [VIA] activities for our Sec Three students. We created a platform for them to interact with our senior citizens and share the joy in this festive occasion.

With Chinese couplets and colourful lanterns as decorations in the school hall, the festive spirit was enhanced. The Chinese New Year Decoration competition for classrooms was a tremendous success; the classes decked their noticeboards with streamers and Hong Paos to lift the festive spirit. The winner in each level is awarded Class Challenge Trophy points. This activity builds a cohesive spirit in the class and creates a sense of ownership in the students towards the class.

This year, we had a series of interesting cultural activities for all levels to participate in Calligraphy-writing workshops. A quiz on the origins and traditions of Chinese New Year was held and students participated enthusiastically.

To end the celebrations on a high note, oranges were distributed to all teachers and invited guests. To mark the end of the Chinese New Year Concert hampers wrapped by our staff and students were also presented to the senior citizens, as a token of our appreciation.

2014 YMCA 8th Mandarin Speaking Competition

The Malay Language Unit embarked in many language and cultural events in Terms 3 and 4 which aims to inculcate the love for the learning of the Malay language and instill a sense of rootedness to their own culture and traditions. In Ping Yi Secondary School, a Malay Language student should be able to:

• Think critically and communicate their ideas confidently, in both written and spoken forms;

• Make the connection of the cultures associated with the Malay language;

• Achieve a deeper appreciation of Malay culture, history and values because the essence of much cultural inheritance is best imbibed in its original language form.

Malay language students from the E7 Cluster embarked on an enriching and informative learning journey trip to Kampong Glam, Fort Canning (Spice Gardens) and the Peranakan Museum. Students from the 5 cluster schools (CHIJ Katong, Manjusri, St. Patrick’s, Ping Yi and Victoria School) were excited to be part of such cluster events which was a platform to share their thoughts and views pertaining to the Malay language and culture on top of being a beneficial collaboration in terms of widening their learning circles.

Students’ written pieces and creative language works were compiled by the cluster teachers after which a publication was finally ready to be given to all Malay language students of the 5 schools. Well done for the worthy effort in recognizing our very own writing talents! The previous publication, “Kalam” which was published 2 years ago, proved to be a resounding success and it is hoped that the publication of “Bunga Rampai” in 2014 would continue to be a useful learning reference for students and a motivating factor to spur them to continue writing in the Malay language!

Bulan Bahasa 2014

Aimi Bte Mohd. Fadali (311) was selected as a ‘Rakan Bahasa’ which entails the responsibilities of a language ambassador. A confident speaker and an active learner, she is indeed the epitome of a language advocator! She represented and attended the launch of Bulan Bahasa 2014 which was held early September at the Asian Civilisation Museum. Part of her duties would include to actively participate in language-based activities/workshop and to encourage her peers in using the language with love and pride. We are proud of her contributions towards the learning of Malay language in school and it is hoped that the experience gained will be forever etched in her memories.

Tamil Language Unit

Pongal Festival

The Tamil Unit started the year by celebrating the Pongal Festival, The festival of Harvest in Mid- January. The main objective is to create an awareness among the Non-Indians on Pongal Celebration, to understand and appreciate Indian Culture and finally to create the festive mood amongst the Indians.

Pongal, the sweet rice was cooked in school by Tamil teachers in the presence of Tamil students. Pongal and other related items were displayed in Library for the Ping Yians to view in their own time. Malay and Chinese students were brought to the Library to view the display and they were given quiz on Pongal Festival. Prizes were given to the best three students.

Pongal was distributed to the School Staff to taste it.

Competitions (Cluster, Zone, External, National)

Our Tamil students participated in many competitions in cluster, Zone, External and National level. These competitions gave opportunities to showcase their talents.

Sorkalam (Debate), Creative –Writing , (National Level)

A team of five students from all levels participated in the National Level Tamil Debate. Ping Yi managed to compete successfully in two rounds of the competition. It was good exposure and experience for our students. Our students had the chance the showcase their fullest potential during the whole process.

Cluster competitions

Our students from all levels participated in Essay-Writing, Singing, Oratorical and Touch- Typing Competitions. Our students have clinched many prizes in all the competitions and made Ping Yi proud.

Other activities

Our students attended Tamil Cluster Camp and Cultural Camp. They also attended the Enhancing Oral Skill Workshop. A Special Study Skill Workshop was carried out for graduating classes and the students found it very beneficial.